Customizable 16 Day Tour Experience in Malaysia

Welcome to Malaysia! Upon arrival, your passionate local driver guide will greet you at the arrival hall, escort you to the hotel downtown, and give you a brief city tour en route, with photo stops available anytime.

Today, you will spend the whole day venturing into Kinabalu National Park. Part of the Borneo rainforest, it is Malaysia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. In this “center of biodiversity” in Southeast Asia, follow the park guide to look for the world’s largest flower, Rafflesia, and its spores, as well as orangutans, tree shrews, leaf monkeys, various birds including Malay hornbills, etc. Moving forward on the Canopy Walkway connecting treetops, you can observe these arboreal animals up close. ► Notes: 1. To avoid insect bites and scaring small animals, please wear long sleeves and pants in less bright colors. 2. We will visit the Tropical Garden instead if the Canopy Walkway is closed due to heavy rain.

Today, we will leave Kota Kinabalu for the Sepilok rainforest reserve. Your driver guide will transfer you to the airport, and a 45-minute flight will take you to Sandakan first.

After landing, a driver based there will pick you up and then drive for about half an hour to the hotel in Sepilok. Arriving at our well-selected hotel in the old-aged rainforest, a stroll on the wooden platform, surrounded by exuberant tropical vegetation and serenaded by birdsong, is an idyllic pleasure. Have you ever experienced swimming in the rainforest? The resort’s swimming pool allows you to swim while enjoying the verdant scenery.

In the morning, we will drive to Sepilok to explore Hutan Simpan Kabili Forest, where you have opportunity to see the cute Orangutan. Then, hike through the tropical lowland dipterocarp forest of Borneo and you may see the Sun Bear.

After that, you'll be escorted to the jetty in Sandakan for a boat ride to reach the Lower Kinabatangan River Sanctuary, flanked by a rainforest that feels uncompromisingly wild, living with numerous rare animals. About an hour later, you'll arrive at the Abai Jungle Restaurant for lunch and continue on another boat trip to Sukau Village.

Check into a riverside lodge, take a short break, and follow a local guide later this afternoon to cruise on the Menanggul River, a tributary of the Kinabatangan River, famed as a habitat for proboscis monkeys, macaques, and orangutans. On the boat, you might see crocodiles and snakes on the riverbank and various birds and monkeys active in the cloud-kissing treetops. The experienced and attentive boatman and guide will help you to uncover as many animals as possible.

Get up early this morning to take a boat trip to Ox-Bow Lake to observe wild birds. They are most active from 6:00 am to 9:00 am. Sitting on the boat, bobbing gently in the wake of each wave, you will see many rare birds, including stork-billed kingfisher and storm’s stork.

Then, return to the lodge for breakfast; the rest of the morning is up to you. Having a drink, chatting, reading popular science books about tropical rainforests, or meandering nearby is open to your choice. You can also try your fortune on the plank road behind the lodge, where you will likely encounter various birds and orangutans. After lunch, the local guide will lead you on another river cruise to find more wild creatures.

Today, you will first be transferred to Lahad Datu by driving for two hours. Have a short break, and another 2-hour drive through a gravel road will take you to Danum Valley in the hinterland of Sabah. Home to countless treasured fauna and flora, Danum Valley has the only untouched 130 million-year-old tropical rainforest in Malaysia and even the world, with 98% of the area covered by lush vegetation. Rest for a while after check-in, have lunch, and follow the professional local guide for a rainforest hike and canopy walk to appreciate the biodiversity on such untamed land. After dinner, if time permits, go for a night safari by open-air truck to spot nocturnal animals. Look up treetops, favorite habitats for Sunda slow loris.

This morning, the local guide will lead you on further exploration of Danum Valley via trekking trails. Remember to bring abundant water and strength-replenishing snacks like chocolate. Hidden in the blockbuster landscape is the Burial Site of Kadazan-Dusun, the largest ethnic group in Sabah. Your eyes will be cast up at the hanging coffins, a unique cliff burial method of ethnic minorities: wooden stakes are nailed in several holes chiseled on the cliff with a coffin placed on them. Proceeding to the View Point at 985 feet above sea level, you will gasp at the commanding view of the Danum Valley and the Borneo Lowland Rainforest. Return to the hotel for rest and dinner. Night wildlife spotting is also awaiting you tonight if the weather is suitable.

Farewell to Danum Valley, and you will be escorted to Lahad Datu Airport by driving for two hours. After a one-hour flight, you will land in Kota Kinabalu and be welcomed by a local driver guide. He or she will then drive you to the luxury hotel near Dalit Beach.

Today, you will fly to Kuching with the provided see-off and pick-up. After meeting the local driver guide, he or she will show you around the waterfront city where Malays love cats to the extreme. Almost every household here keeps a cat; even the Malay homonym “Kuching” means “cat.” Ubiquitous stray cats and cat statues are the other hosts of the city, and the Gigantic Cat Statue you’ll see is a classic representative of the city’s mascot.

Then, drive through Chinatown to the Tua Pek Kong Temple, the oldest Chinese temple in Kuching. Throughout Southeast Asia, Tua Pek Kong is known as the “God of Prosperity,” representing prosperity, wealth, and longevity. As a landmark of Kuching, although its red walls, colorful tiles, and dragon-spitting-pearl carvings are out of tune with surrounding modern high-rise buildings, the independent temple, still with brand new paint and lingering incense smoke, is burst with charismatic clashes of tradition and modernity. If you happen to catch the Chinese New Year or the Tua Pek Kong Birthday Parade, you will witness how ceremoniously the locals celebrate traditional festivals.

En route to the hotel, we’ll drive past many iconic historic buildings, including Kuching South City Council, the Round Tower, the Old Court House, and the General Post Office. Also, passing by Malay villages, you will see the colorful India Street and traditional shop-houses. Check into the hotel and get around on your own.

This morning, we will pay a visit to Semenggoh Park, where you can breathe fresh air and see the wild animals.

Have lunch on your own and continue to Bidayuh Annah Rais Longhouse with your driver guide in the afternoon. In your imagination, the longhouse may be a substantial wooden building divided into different grids for different families. Still, it is more like many independent houses connected by wooden piles, with joints between houses sealed with boards. Such structure has existed for more than 300 years; of the 150 families who now live in Annah Rais, all know each other, speaking to not only a formal but also a spiritual connection.

Today, the driver guide will send you to the dock and help you take the speedboat to Bako National Park. After disembarking, follow the park guide to start your exploration. Nature pulls out all the stops in this mysterious land, with sheer cliffs, turquoise waters, fine sandy beaches, and mangrove swamps – every fantastic scene can be photographed as your wallpaper. Pitcher plants can be seen everywhere along the hiking trail, and you are likely to say hi to star animals such as proboscis monkeys, silver leaf monkeys, and long-tailed macaques. Among them, the foodie crab-eating macaques are enthusiastic about catching shrimps and crabs on the beach, living an unfettered life. They will also battle in a showdown to become the alpha male as if staging the “Game of Thrones” in nature. After the tour, take the return speedboat to the dock, where your driver guide will meet you promptly and transfer you to the hotel.

Check out this morning and be transferred to Kuching Airport. A 1.5-hour early flight will take you to Mulu, a remote wilderness area on Borneo Island. Once you land, a local driver will pick you up and escort you to the hotel. Have a lunch break, and set out to Mulu National Park with the local guide this afternoon. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mulu is much-lauded for its spectacular karst landforms with limestone caves and dramatic rock pinnacles, also the crowning touch of our tour today. Though smaller in scale, Lang Cave possesses the most spellbinding view of its unique stone pillars and stalagmites, which become more enchanting with strategic lit-up. Just next to it, the Deer Cave will shock you with 2 to 3 million bats clinging to the roof, getting ready for evening prowl. The spectacle of millions of bats out of caves in swirling black masses is a hit with worldwide tourists.

Today, we will take a longboat cruise on the Melinau River to explore another two caves in Mulu. On the way, you will first make a short stopover at the Penan Resettlement Area, where the mysterious ethnic group still lives in longhouses, symbolizing their unity. A row of long houses with at least ten households has corridors more than dozens of yards long, ideal for children to run and play and for older adults to weave fishing nets, baskets, and handicrafts.

Then, get to Cave of the Winds and Clear Water Cave, one of the largest caves in the world, remaining a large part to be uncovered. At the cave entrance, your guide will introduce an endemic species, monophyllaea pendula, which grows only one leaf on each plant with concentrated photosynthesis. Going further, you can see the iconic underground river channel that erodes the cave into wavy patterns, glamorous under the spotlight. In part of Clear Water Cave, which receives the penetrating sunlight, don’t miss a rare display of vitality in the dark cave – a unique “sun stalagmite” growing towards the light thanks to clad parasitic algae.

In the morning, you will be escorted to Mulu Airport and take a 1-hour flight back to Kota Kinabalu. After you get off, the local driver guide will greet you at the arrival hall and lead you to visit the Chinese Poh Toh Tse Temple. Built in 1980, it is a crucial Chinese temple in the city, with an eye-catching traditional Chinese roof and structure. You’ll meet a giant Guanyin statue enshrined at the entrance and more than a dozen statues of deities in the main hall. If time permits, continue to glimpse the Tanjung Aru Beach and take some photos.

Finally, the driver guide will send you to the Jeselton Jetty and help you take a ferry to Manukan Island, where you need to check in by yourself. Don’t worry; the hotel we booked for you is so near the Manukan Island Jetty that you can see it once you go ashore.

To relieve travel fatigue during the past fortnight, we leave you a full free day to do as you please on the island. You can hop on a jet ski to speed on the sea, play thrilling sky parasailing, snorkel, or go seabed walking to observe sea creatures like coral reefs and even shark pups. At noon, a snack stall next to the hotel always makes a roaring trade; if you want to taste local snacks, catch it before lunchtime.

Our 16 days private Malaysia honeymoon package comes to an end today. Depending on your flight, take the 20-minute ferry ride returning to Kota Kinabalu jetty, where the driver guide will meet you and escort you to Kinabalu airport.